By Elsa Dennert’s love of horses and helping people led to a career in which she can check both boxes with a form of equine therapy.
Specifically, she helps people using the Draper Sensory Method. With it, a client rides backwards on a horse as it is led through a series of circular patterns. With the rider having their eyes closed throughout the session, Elsa said the goal is to rebalance the brain.
Many of her clients have neurological conditions like dementia, anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, vertigo and traumatic brain injuries.
Elsa Dennert operates Riding Peace Sensory Horseback Therapy on the north edge of Aberdeen. Aberdeen Insider photo by Elisa Sand.
“We’re certified to heal the brain through the movement of the horse,” Elsa said.
She has three trained horses — Maple, Serenity and Reif — and she’s in the process of training a fourth.
Elsa operates Riding Peace Sensory Horseback Therapy on the north edge of Aberdeen at El Jo Mar Ranch. She first learned of the process from Chris Reder, founder of the DTOM Veterans Ranch.
Originally founded in Warner, the veterans ranch is now based in Badgley, Minn. Through it, Reder has offered the same therapy to veterans.
Elsa, 19, said as she was nearing graduation from high school and exploring career options she met Reder, who offered her a therapy session to show her what the process is all about.
“I went with my mom and we both had sessions,” she said.
Help with dyslexia
Elsa said she thought it was cool, but also felt another benefit.
“I have dyslexia, and I felt like I could read faster after one session,” she said.
That led her down the path of researching Draper Sensory Therapy and getting certified. She started offering therapy sessions in May 2025.
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To be clear, the therapy didn’t eliminate her dyslexia, but it helped restore her balance, Elsa said.
“The prime time to correct issues like dyslexia is to read after the session because the brain is in balance,” she said.
Therapy helped another client with dyslexia jump five reading levels, she said.
Success stories
Elsa and her mom, Nancy Dennert, have many stories about clients who they said have, after multiple sessions, seen improvement in their symptoms ranging from long-term dementia to a traumatic brain injury.
She said the effects of the therapy can be seen on an electroencephalogram, or an EEG, which is a scan of the neural activity in the brain. Often, those who seek treatment will have areas that are red or orange, which means appropriate connections aren’t happening.
While changes are noticeable after one session, Elsa said, the therapy isn’t a one-and-done solution.
“We tell all our clients to start with 10 sessions,” she said.
Those are spread out as needed with new drills and activities added with each session.
“We’ll let people try it out, but it’s a process,” Nancy said. “It’s not a quick fix. You can walk away feeling remarkable, but there’s a lot of reorganizing the brain needs to do.”
Elsa Dennert operates Riding Peace Sensory Horseback Therapy on the north edge of Aberdeen. Aberdeen Insider photo by Elisa Sand.
Some people will be done after 10 sessions, Elsa said, while others might need weekly sessions. The duration of the therapy, she said, depends on what the person is experiencing and for how long.
The 10 sessions, she said, act as a benchmark. After then, some people just need to return every three months or so for what she refers to as a tune up. Sessions are $150 each, but go down to $125 each with the 10-session package. They are not covered by insurance, and riders are limited to 225 pounds.
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Elsa noted a client who has had symptoms of dementia for 17 years. After sessions, she encourages him to re-learn skills like name and face recognition and playing cards.
She said she sees improvements. Not only is the man socializing more and sleeping better, but his sense of direction is back, he can tell time again, and, for the first time in a long time, he identified his daughter by name, Elsa said.
“This type of horse therapy is a paradigm shift in the treatment of mental illness,” Nancy said. “We can study the science and read all the literature, but every time we have a client who talks about what they’re experiencing, it feels like a miracle.”
Elsa said that during therapy sessions, she’s taking cues from the horse and the client and adjusts based on what she’s seeing. Sometimes, she said, that can be an emotional release or a release of stress from the rider that flows through the horse.
While some are nervous at first and wonder if therapy will push them too far, Elsa said she finds herself reassuring them that’s not the case. The goal of the therapy is to allow clients to relax and heal, she said.
She said the first few sessions will make clients tired, so they’re encouraged to have somebody with them to get a ride home.
Elsa said hers is one of three places in South Dakota offering sensory horseback therapy. The others are 605 Roots in Brandon and Riding Through in Box Elder.
Riding Peace is at 4081 130th St. N.E., but those interested should make appointments by filling out a form on her website at ridingpeace.com so as not to disturb sessions.
